Knoxville — A Sports Illustrated model had a unique accessory walking down the runway Sunday night... her five-month-old daughter.
Mara Martin breastfed her child as she walked down in a gold bikini at the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swim Search.
Her message to mothers: breastfeeding is normal.
That's exactly what the Knox County Health Department hopes moms realize.
"I love seeing celebrities or any other popular person being like hey, this is normal," said mother Jessica Godfrey.
Godfrey has grown more and more comfortable with breastfeeding her son Ben in public.
"You just get some crazy looks sometimes when your baby's just there, screaming," Godfrey said.
She says model Mara Martin's runway walk, as well as her online support groups, have really helped her overcome the negative stigma in society.
"That actually is the only reason I'm still breastfeeding right now," Godfrey said. "Because I had that backup support that helped me."
She's a member of the Knox County Health Department's Facebook group called "the Breastfriends group".
"Moms can talk to each other and get some advice from other moms on the best way to latch on, how to become comfortable breastfeeding, and how to overcome their barriers," Knox County Health Department nutritionist Chelsea Gurene said.
Gurene works closely with breastfeeding mothers at the health department.
"Breastfeeding is beneficial for moms," Gurene said. "And that shouldn't be something that's embarrassing."
Though state law says you're allowed to breastfeed in public, there can still be a stigma.
So, the health department is working to fight that through things like the Facebook group Godfrey is a member of, as well as education programs and the Breastfeeding Welcomed Here Directory.
More than 90 Businesses including children's consignment shop Wee Care Shoppe in Knoxville are in that directory.
"To feel like you can come in and grab a chair and sit down for five, ten minutes, nurse your child, keep shopping," Owner Rebecca Husain said.
Husain pledged to provide a good place for moms to breastfeed when they need to.
"If you want to keep your customers in your store and they're breastfeeding moms, let them sit and breastfeed their child, because if their child's unhappy, they're leaving," Husain said.
If you're interested in joining the Breastfeeding Welcomed Here Directory as a business, you can do that here.
The Breastfriends Facebook group is a closed group, so if you want to join, send the Knox County Health Department Facebook page a message, and you can get an invitation to join.